Yehi Hai Right Choice Baby!

What sets India apart from the rest of the world is the role of the parents and grandparents in nurturing the lives of the children. Joint family system may be a thing of the past, but be it education, career or marriage of a youngster, the elders at home have a big role to play even to this date. The young people are considered immature, inexperienced and indecisive even in this information age in many Indian families. There was a period when the so-called experienced people used to force their judgments on the poor young chaps. But the present generation prefers to be given a free hand in choosing their career and life partner. Thanks to the exposure and maturity of the new breed of younger generation. They do make informed decisions but many times against the will of their parents. It is true that every creature born in this universe should be given its due right to live its own life.

But some go to the extent of completely ignoring the wishes of their parents and their dear ones, and emerge out as selfish and self-centered individuals. The parents and children should participate in the decision making and come out with a win-win situation. This is where the message said in the movie Santhosh Subramaniam fits in. The story is weaved around an affectionate father who acts quite high handed in his penchant to give his son the best life. The ambitious son could neither give in nor able to ignore his father. The story reaches an end with a message to all over-ambitious and affectionate fathers. The father and son make an amicable decision that satisfies all concerns. Let’s adapt this model. Parents and children should join together as a family and come to a conclusion that is made bearing all concerns in mind. In particular, when it comes to decisions concerning marriage and career, opinions of both parents and children should paid heed. Surprisingly, many parents give that leeway to their children. In particular, they leave the choice of choosing a partner to their children. They strike a balance between being strict decision makers and affectionate parents. As writer Saddaf Siddhigh, in her article in the Hindu magazine (dated-16-04-08) observes, present day marriages are semi-arranged. She says parents and children come up with a design where both the parties are satisfied. The key here is that the sentiments and freedom of both the parties should be respected. Let's welcome this trend with a red carpet and pray for all such dominant and selfish practices to reach the exit door.